Also called: Also called: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
Pulmonary fibrosis harms the tissues deep in your lungs. The air sacs in your lungs and their supporting structures become inflamed and scarred. If scarring progresses, it makes your lungs thick and stiff. That makes it hard for you to catch your breath, and your blood may not get enough oxygen.
The kind of job you have may affect your risk of getting the disease. For example, coal miners, ship workers and sand blasters are at risk. Pulmonary fibrosis is also associated with some connective tissue diseases. It can be a side effect of a medicine. Sometimes no one knows the cause of the disease. Smoking can boost your risk or make your illness worse.
-
Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/ipf/ipf_whatis.html
- Pulmonary Fibrosis: Patient Information Handbook(Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation) - Large PDF file - http://www.pulmonaryfibrosis.org/patient.pdf
- About Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) / Pulmonary Fibrosis(National Jewish Health) - http://www.nationaljewish.org/disease-info/diseases/rheum/ild/about/index.aspx
-
Frequently Asked Questions about IPF(Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis) - http://www.coalitionforpf.org/cpf_faq.php
Also available in Spanish http://www.coalitionforpf.org/cpf_patientbrochure-espanol.php
- Interstitial Lung Disease and Pulmonary Fibrosis(American Lung Association) - http://www.lungusa.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=2060161&content_id={4350F20F-98E4-403B-A33B-68B20A3C2FBA}¬oc=1
-
Healing Process Found to Backfire in Lung Patients(10/27/2008, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences) - http://www.nih.gov/news/health/oct2008/niehs-27.htm
- Blood Gases Test(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/blood_gases/test.html
-
Bronchoscopy
(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/bronchoscopy/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/bronchoscopyspanish/htm/index.htm -
Chest X Ray(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/cxray/cxray_whatis.html
- Flexible Bronchoscopy(American College of Chest Physicians) - Links to PDF - http://www.chestnet.org/downloads/patients/guides/Bronchoscopy.pdf
-
Lung Function Tests(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/lft/lft_whatare.html
- Spirometry Testing(National Jewish Health) - http://www.nationaljewish.org/disease-info/tests/spirometry.aspx
- Symptoms and Diagnosis: Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis(Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis) - http://www.coalitionforpf.org/cpf_diagnosing_ipf.php
- Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery (VATS)(Harvard Medical School) - http://www.health.harvard.edu/diagnostic-tests/video-assisted-thoracic-surgery.htm
- Lung Transplantation: What Every Patient with IPF Should Know(Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis) - http://www.coalitionforpf.org/cpf_lungtransplantation.php
- Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Oxygen Management for the IPF Patient(Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis) - http://www.coalitionforpf.org/cpf_oxygenmanagement.php
-
Bronchoscopy(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/bronchoscopy/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/bronchoscopyspanish/htm/index.htm
-
How the Lungs Work(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/hlw/hlw_what.html
-
ClinicalTrials.gov: Pulmonary Fibrosis(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Pulmonary+Fibrosis%22
- IPF Research(Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis) - http://www.coalitionforpf.org/cpf_research_overview.php
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Short telomeres are a risk factor for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18753630&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Airway fibrosis and angiogenesis due to eosinophil trafficking in chronic... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18691061&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Single versus double lung transplantation in pulmonary fibrosis: a debated... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18675116&tool=MedlinePlus
- Pulmonary Fibrosis -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=pulmonary+fibrosis[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- Glossary(Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis) - http://www.coalitionforpf.org/cpf_glossary.php
- Providing Support to Those in Need(Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis) - http://www.coalitionforpf.org/cpf_support.php
- American College of Chest Physicians - http://www.chestnet.org/
- American Lung Association - http://www.lungusa.org/
-
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/
- Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation - http://www.pulmonaryfibrosis.org/home.htm
- Facts about Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis(Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis) - http://www.coalitionforpf.org/cpf_facts.php
- Lungs and Breathing - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/lungsandbreathing.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Pulmonary Fibrosis is the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/